Chapter Summaries

Xiao Lin’s poisoned reign ended in a coup led by Xiao Yu and Shen Mingzhu, and Xiao Huaijin died protecting the father who had deposed and imprisoned him. After the Imperial Guards crushed the rebellion, Xiao Lin mourned his son and ordered severe punishments for the conspirators.

• Xiao Yu led three hundred private soldiers into the Hall of Mental Cultivation and demanded that Xiao Lin abdicate, while Shen Mingzhu admitted to poisoning Xiao Lin’s calming soup for two years.
• Xiao Lin fought off the soldiers until Xiao Huaijin escaped the Eastern Palace and stood between him and the attackers.
• Xiao Huaijin fought with a wooden stick but was fatally stabbed while protecting Xiao Lin, and Xiao Lin held him as he died.
• The Imperial Guards defeated the rebels, and Xiao Lin ordered the dead Xiao Huaijin carried to his bed.
• Xiao Lin admitted that he had wrongly deposed his son and issued a decree sentencing Shen Mingzhu and the Shen Clan to death while imprisoning Xiao Yu for life.

Four-year-old Xiao Huaijin tried to win the affection of his distant father, Emperor Xiao Lin, by studying diligently. Xiao Lin secretly showed concern for him but continued to keep his distance, leaving Huaijin hopeful that his hard work would someday earn a fatherly embrace.

• Xiao Huaijin heard palace servants say that Xiao Lin disliked him and asked his nursemaid whether his father did, but she reassured him that the emperor was busy.
• Huaijin recited the Thousand Character Classic for Xiao Lin, who called his performance passable and left, though Huaijin took the remark as praise.
• While Huaijin was gravely ill, Xiao Lin sat beside his bed and touched his forehead, then withdrew when Huaijin woke and called him Father.
• Zhou Rucheng told Huaijin that Xiao Lin had studied hard as a child, and Huaijin vowed to learn even better than his father.
• Xiao Lin saw Huaijin asleep over his studies beside a page marked with the word Father, then left a dragon-embroidered cloak over him.
• Huaijin believed Xiao Lin had visited him and promised to study until his father would hold him, while Xiao Lin watched the Eastern Palace from the Hall of Mental Cultivation without speaking.

Ten-year-old Xiao Huaijin trained hard for the Double Ninth Festival archery test, hoping to win Xiao Lin’s approval, but a fall during the mounted round left him convinced that his father did not like him. The chapter ends with Xiao Huaijin treasuring Xiao Lin’s quiet inquiry about his injuries and continuing to study and practice.

• After Liu An announced that Xiao Lin would watch the princes’ mounted archery, Xiao Huaijin practiced until he could consistently hit the bull’s-eye.
• At the Northern Park test, Xiao Huaijin hit all five stationary targets, but Xiao Lin gave no praise.
• During the mounted round, Xiao Huaijin missed his second shot after noticing Xiao Lin watching, then fell when his horse stumbled over a discarded arrow shaft.
• Xiao Lin left the grounds without helping Xiao Huaijin, who asked his wet nurse whether he was not good enough and later asked Zhou Rucheng whether his father truly disliked him.
• Zhou Rucheng told Xiao Huaijin that he could only wait until Xiao Lin had a use for him.
• Liu An relayed Xiao Lin’s inquiry about Xiao Huaijin’s injuries, and Xiao Huaijin replied that he was unharmed and would resume his lessons and archery practice.

At thirteen, Xiao Huaijin spoke at court for the first time, proposing repairs to Huainan’s embankments, and Xiao Lin approved his plan. As Xiao Huaijin left to inspect the works, Xiao Lin secretly arranged support in Huainan, while Xiao Huaijin still longed for his father’s regard.

• Xiao Huaijin attended court and, despite the decree against offering opinions, proposed funding lasting repairs to Huainan’s embankments; Xiao Lin approved the plan.
• Xiao Lin told Liu An that Xiao Huaijin’s policy essay was too much like something he would have written, and Zhou Rucheng realized Xiao Lin’s wariness came from seeing himself in the crown prince.
• Liu An replaced a study companion who had disparaged Xiao Huaijin’s essay, while an unexplained new bow and a favorite soup appeared in the Eastern Palace.
• Xiao Huaijin left the capital to inspect Huainan’s embankment works, and Xiao Lin watched his carriage depart.
• Xiao Lin secretly ordered Liu An to station men in Huainan and revised the embankment plans in detail.

After returning from Huainan with a record of successful river works, Xiao Huaijin sought recognition and closeness from Xiao Lin, who began to acknowledge him but kept him at a distance. The chapter ended with Xiao Huaijin excluded from the New Year sacrifice to Heaven while Xiao Yu accompanied the emperor, leaving the crown prince alone in the Eastern Palace.

• Xiao Huaijin returned to the capital after completing the Huainan embankment project, but Xiao Lin refused to receive him and only later approved his plan to fund maintenance through salt taxes.
• Xiao Huaijin encountered Shen Mingzhu and Xiao Yu, and Shen Mingzhu warned him that the palace’s intrigues would grow livelier now that he had returned.
• When Xiao Lin fell ill, Xiao Huaijin repeatedly tried to visit him and left him homemade ginger soup, which Xiao Lin quietly accepted.
• At the New Year’s Eve banquet, Xiao Huaijin received little attention from Xiao Lin, but afterward Xiao Lin summoned him and invited him to accompany him to the Temple of Heaven.
• The next morning, Xiao Lin withdrew the invitation because Xiao Huaijin had a cold, and Xiao Yu accompanied him to the sacrifice instead.
• Xiao Huaijin heard the sacrifice bells from the Eastern Palace and later stood outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation before leaving without seeing Xiao Lin.

Xiao Huaijin fell gravely ill after weeks of strain, while Xiao Lin ordered the Imperial Medical Academy to care for him but struggled to express his concern. After recovering, Xiao Huaijin received osmanthus cakes from his father and said he would soon return to pay his respects, leaving both father and son quietly worried about each other.

• Xiao Huaijin's fever worsened, and Xiao Lin ordered the Imperial Medical Academy's chief and deputy physicians to keep night duty at the Eastern Palace and authorized its medicines without reports.
• On the Lantern Festival, Xiao Huaijin's fever broke, but he watched the fireworks alone and put the returned bowl beside his father's faded dragon-embroidered cloak.
• Liu An brought Xiao Huaijin osmanthus cakes from Xiao Lin, recalling the pastries Xiao Huaijin had loved as a child.
• Xiao Huaijin asked after Xiao Lin's health and told Liu An to say he would leave his bed the next day and visit his father the day after.
• Liu An left the Eastern Palace knowing Xiao Huaijin and Xiao Lin were both concealing their worry from each other.

At sixteen, Xiao Huaijin faced growing courtly pressure as Xiao Yu entered government and gained the officials’ favor. After Xiao Lin set aside his recommendation for a northern commander, Xiao Huaijin began to understand that his resemblance to his father and his political judgment could both make him appear threatening.

• Zhou Rucheng remarked that Xiao Huaijin increasingly resembled Xiao Lin in his youth, and Xiao Huaijin later turned his bronze mirror face down.
• Shen Mingzhu arranged for Xiao Yu’s learning to be noticed at court, prompting Xiao Lin to praise him and court officials to treat Yuxiu Palace more favorably.
• After the northern army suffered a defeat, Xiao Huaijin recommended Kang Zhengyuan as its new commander, but Xiao Lin postponed the decision.
• The Minister of Works warned Xiao Huaijin that his seemingly sound recommendation made him look as though he were surveying his father’s court.
• A Hanlin scholar’s memorial led Xiao Yu to enter court, where he quickly won the officials’ favor and needled Xiao Huaijin about Kang Zhengyuan at the Mid-Autumn banquet.
• After the banquet, Xiao Huaijin asked whether he resembled Xiao Lin, then entered the Eastern Palace without waiting for an answer.

Xiao Lin stripped Xiao Huaijin of the crown prince position after fabricated accusations of factionalism, harboring a dragon robe, and sorcery, despite suspecting the evidence could be false. Xiao Huaijin was confined to the Eastern Palace, while Shen Mingzhu and Xiao Yu watched for their opportunity.

• Xiao Lin repeatedly postponed Xiao Huaijin’s capping ceremony as court crises and his illness worsened.
• Xiao Lin warned Xiao Huaijin that he held him responsible for the Huainan embankment crack and the northern frontier appointment.
• The Censorate accused Zhou Ming of embezzlement, and Xiao Lin refused Xiao Huaijin’s request to investigate after a dragon robe was found in the Eastern Palace.
• A palace attendant’s confession led officials to find a curse doll, and Xiao Lin stripped Xiao Huaijin of his crown prince position and confined him to the Eastern Palace.
• Xiao Lin ordered extra charcoal sent to the Eastern Palace without his name attached, while Shen Mingzhu told Xiao Yu that a dead crown prince would be no threat.

After Xiao Huaijin was deposed and confined in the Eastern Palace, he endured isolation and worsening provisions while struggling with his father Xiao Lin’s rejection. A visit from Zhou Rucheng offered comfort but no certainty, and Xiao Lin learned that the seized papers contained no evidence of a conspiracy.

• Imperial Guards sealed the Eastern Palace, replaced its attendants, and confined Xiao Huaijin, while his wet nurse chose to remain with him.
• Xiao Lin learned that Xiao Huaijin had not eaten, then secretly arranged for osmanthus cake to be sent to the Eastern Palace.
• The Eastern Palace’s provisions deteriorated, but Xiao Huaijin stopped his wet nurse from protesting so their captors would not know what mattered to him.
• Imperial Guards seized Xiao Huaijin’s books and papers, though he kept the copy of the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Governance that Zhou Rucheng had given him.
• Zhou Rucheng visited Xiao Huaijin, explained that Xiao Lin’s fear made him push away those he cared for, and embraced the grieving former Crown Prince.
• Xiao Lin read a report stating that the seized papers contained no evidence of factional plotting, then stood by the window facing the Eastern Palace.

Xiao Huaijin escaped the sealed Eastern Palace during a coup and rushed to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to protect Xiao Lin. He fell beneath the soldiers’ blades after Xiao Lin finally looked at him and called him by name.

• Xiao Huaijin heard a frontier horn and saw firelight near the Hall of Mental Cultivation, realizing a palace coup was underway.
• Xiao Huaijin freed the iron birch door bar and escaped through the Eastern Palace’s back door into the snow.
• Xiao Huaijin crossed Chongwen Gate and Rijing Gate, then entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation as Xiao Lin faced Xiao Yu’s soldiers.
• Xiao Huaijin blocked the soldiers’ blades with the door bar and struck back, but he was wounded and fell beside Xiao Lin.
• Xiao Lin called Xiao Huaijin by name as Xiao Huaijin lost consciousness.

After Xiao Huaijin's death, Xiao Lin executed Shen Mingzhu and Xiao Yu, led a campaign against the Tartars, and died consumed by regret over his treatment of his son. He awoke in the eighth year of Jianxi, when Xiao Huaijin was four, and set out to find the crown prince.

• Xiao Lin ordered Xiao Huaijin's funeral rites to follow those of a Son of Heaven and named his posthumous title Huai.
• Xiao Lin watched Shen Mingzhu's execution as she accused him of causing Xiao Huaijin's suffering, then refused to visit Xiao Yu before his execution.
• Xiao Lin led the army against the Tartars, visited the empty Eastern Palace, and took Xiao Huaijin's faded cloak with him.
• After returning to the capital, Xiao Lin rejected the idea of appointing another crown prince and prepared for his own death.
• Xiao Lin awoke in the eighth year of Jianxi, learned that four-year-old Xiao Huaijin was alive, and asked to be dressed so he could go out.

Xiao Lin began rebuilding his relationship with his four-year-old son, Xiao Huaijin, after remembering how he had neglected him in his previous life. After sharing a gentle day among the flowers, Xiao Lin personally began teaching Huaijin, leaving their new bond just beginning.

• Xiao Lin found Xiao Huaijin examining peonies and invited him to see the weeping crabapples behind the imperial study.
• Xiao Lin gave Huaijin a crabapple blossom, called him by name, and gently touched his hair while they walked together.
• Huaijin treasured the flower and asked his nursemaid whether Father liked him; she reassured him that Xiao Lin did.
• Xiao Lin ordered Huaijin to come to the imperial study for lessons and prepared a primer through the night.
• Xiao Lin began teaching Huaijin the Three Character Classic, and when petals fell onto the page, he placed them in the child's palm.

Xiao Lin began teaching Xiao Huaijin to write and showed him affection while investigating Shen Clan influence in the Eastern Palace. Xiao Huaijin resolved to earn more praise from his father and drew him a picture to give him.

• Xiao Lin guided Xiao Huaijin’s hand as he wrote the character for “heaven,” praised his effort, and caught him secretly switching the brush to his left hand.
• Kong Wu reported that Zhao Bao’s connection to the Shen Clan had been erased from Ministry of War records, and Xiao Lin ordered him to investigate quietly and repave the alley by the Eastern Palace’s rear gate.
• Xiao Lin told Liu An he need not stay up with him until midnight and asked him to ensure Xiao Huaijin had an extra quilt.
• After waking from a nightmare, Xiao Huaijin told his nursemaid that Xiao Lin had praised him and said he wanted to practice more so his father would praise him again.
• The next morning, Xiao Huaijin drew a crowned adult beside a small child and gave the picture to his nursemaid for Xiao Lin.

Xiao Lin strengthened Xiao Huaijin’s protection by appointing Zhou Rucheng as his grand tutor and secretly watching the Eastern Palace. A revenue investigation then linked fifty thousand taels in missing military funds to a Shen-owned firm, leaving Xiao Lin to investigate the Shen Clan’s growing influence.

• Kong Wu reported that Zhao Bao and two other Eastern Palace guards had ties to the Shen Clan, and Xiao Lin ordered discreet surveillance outside the palace walls.
• Xiao Lin summoned Zhou Rucheng and appointed him grand tutor to Xiao Huaijin, whom Zhou began teaching two days later.
• Xiao Lin asked Zhou to bring him all of Xiao Huaijin’s schoolwork and told him not to force the child to stop writing with his left hand.
• Xiao Huaijin told his wet nurse that Xiao Lin would look at him every day, after beginning his lessons with Zhou.
• Sun Jingtang reported that fifty thousand taels withdrawn for Capital Garrison repairs had gone to the Shen-owned Hengtai Firm, and Xiao Lin ordered a secret investigation.

Xiao Lin brought the young crown prince Xiao Huaijin to honor Empress Xiaoyi in the Hall of Ancestral Worship, breaking with tradition. As Xiao Huaijin tried to please his father through his studies, Shen Mingzhu watched Xiao Lin’s growing attention to the child with concern.

• Xiao Lin ordered the Ministry of Rites to have Xiao Huaijin accompany him to the Hall of Ancestral Worship for Empress Xiaoyi’s death anniversary.
• Xiao Huaijin entered the hall for the first time, kowtowed to his mother’s spirit tablet, and called her “Mama.”
• Xiao Lin declared that he would bring Xiao Huaijin to the hall every year, and Shen Mingzhu learned that Xiao Lin had been teaching the crown prince every afternoon.
• Xiao Huaijin showed Zhou Rucheng a drawing of himself and Xiao Lin, then promised to study harder than his father to make him happy.
• Zhou Rucheng reflected that he had never seen Xiao Lin happy and wondered whether Xiao Huaijin could reach the goal he was striving toward.

Xiao Huaijin brought half a loquat to Xiao Lin, and the emperor accepted it, marking a change in their relationship. Xiao Lin defended teaching the crown prince at court, ordered surveillance focused on deliveries to the chancellor’s residence, and arranged to trim the loquat tree so Huaijin could not climb it.

• Xiao Huaijin tried to climb Empress Xiaoyi’s loquat tree, and Liu An picked the ripest fruit for him.
• Xiao Huaijin saved half the loquat for Xiao Lin, who ate it and praised its sweetness.
• Xiao Lin rebuked He Qian for challenging his decision to teach the crown prince and asked whether any other officials objected; none stepped forward.
• Kong Wu reported that Sun Cheng had visited the rear entrance of the chancellor’s residence, and Xiao Lin ordered him to watch the deliveries there instead of Sun Cheng.
• Xiao Lin told Kong Wu to trim the loquat tree’s lower branches so Xiao Huaijin could not climb it.

Xiao Lin grew closer to Xiao Huaijin through writing lessons and his fifth-birthday archery practice, while investigating a possible Shen Clan influence over military funds. The chapter ended with Xiao Lin preserving Xiao Huaijin’s handwriting and arranging a lower bow rack for him.

• Xiao Lin helped Xiao Huaijin practice writing the character “desolate” and wrote “all under heaven” for him to copy.
• Sun Jingtang reported that military accounts were being carefully falsified and identified Cui Shen as a possible key figure tied to the Shen Clan.
• Xiao Lin ordered Sun Jingtang to investigate Cui Shen’s family and military fund transfers, and arranged secret protection for him.
• Xiao Lin gave Xiao Huaijin his childhood horn bow for his fifth birthday and helped him shoot arrows at the Eastern Palace target.
• Xiao Huaijin asked Xiao Lin to watch him practice archery every birthday, and Xiao Lin promised he would.
• Xiao Lin stored Xiao Huaijin’s writing in his desk and ordered Liu An to have the Eastern Palace bow rack lowered.

Xiao Huaijin celebrated the Dragon Boat Festival banquet with Xiao Lin, then befriended Xiao Lan and Xiao Yue in the Eastern Palace. Xiao Lin learned that Huaijin watched the window for him, while a bundle of mugwort sent by the Noble Consort hung beneath the covered walkway.

• Xiao Huaijin attended the Dragon Boat Festival banquet and waited to eat until Xiao Lin ate; Xiao Lin later carried him to the throne, shared food with him, and let him sleep beside him.
• Xiao Yu asked Shen Mingzhu whether he could sit with Xiao Lin as the crown prince had, and she told him that an imperial prince had to know his place.
• Xiao Lan visited the Eastern Palace with Consort Jing, taught Xiao Huaijin to draw an orchid, and watched him practice writing.
• Xiao Yue visited with Consort Xian and wanted Xiao Huaijin's ox-horn bow; Xiao Huaijin offered it, but Consort Xian returned it after noticing its inscription.
• Zhou Rucheng told Xiao Lin that Huaijin looked out the window while writing because he was waiting for him, and reported that the Noble Consort had sent mugwort to the Eastern Palace.
• Xiao Huaijin copied Xiao Lan's flower into his copybook, placed his bow beside his pillow, and murmured for his father as he fell asleep.

Xiao Lin drew closer to Xiao Huaijin and Xiao Lan in the Eastern Palace while investigating the Shen Clan’s diversion of military funds. Shen Mingzhu’s family advanced three political requests, and Sun Jingtang learned that the Hengtai Firm’s supposed owner was false.

• Xiao Huaijin saved the grapes Shen Mingzhu sent so he could eat them with Xiao Lin, then learned to write “summer heat” with Xiao Lan.
• Kong Wu reported that the Hengtai Firm was controlled by Shen Boyong’s clan and that local officials along its route were connected to the Shen Clan; Xiao Lin ordered an investigation into the Ministry of War clerks handling the funds.
• Xiao Lin visited the Eastern Palace, praised Xiao Lan’s handwriting, shared the grapes with the children, and promised Xiao Huaijin he would come watch him write.
• Shen Mingzhu sent a letter asking her father to act while Xiao Lin was in a good mood, and Shen Boyong proposed early tax collection, a promotion for Cui Shen, and a Hejian general for the Capital Northern Camp.
• Xiao Lin referred Shen Boyong’s proposals to the Grand Secretariat, and Kong Wu told Sun Jingtang that the Hengtai Firm’s owner was not surnamed Cui.

Xiao Huaijin enjoyed the Double Seventh banquet with his siblings and imperial father, sharing lotus seeds and releasing a sky lantern. The night ended with Xiao Lin reflecting on Shen Mingzhu’s resemblance to Empress Xiaoyi, while Xiao Huaijin lay awake thinking of his father.

• Xiao Huaijin joined Xiao Lan, Xiao Yue, and Xiao Yu at the palace banquet, where Xiao Lan shared lotus seeds with him and Xiao Yue called him big brother.
• Xiao Lan threaded all seven holes of a needle, while Xiao Huaijin struggled with the task and Xiao Yu quietly wished he could join them.
• Xiao Lin invited Xiao Huaijin to release a sky lantern, and Xiao Huaijin made a wish before sharing the lotus seeds he had saved for his father.
• Xiao Lin reviewed memorials concerning the Shen Clan and Hengtai Firm, then remarked that Shen Mingzhu had worn Empress Xiaoyi’s favorite color.
• Xiao Huaijin stayed awake in the Eastern Palace, looking at Xiao Lan’s charcoal flower and murmuring about his imperial father.